


Sentiment

by kiriya



Series: Post-Series Xing Collection (Starring Greed) [2]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: And Too Cool For You, Gen, Greed is Alive, Ling is Emperor, Post-Series, Separate bodies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-26
Updated: 2016-02-26
Packaged: 2018-05-23 06:54:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6108608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiriya/pseuds/kiriya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The capitol prepares to celebrate a Xingese traditon. Greed and Ling talk about theology and metaphysics.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sentiment

Greed watches as servant women dress Ling in ceremonial robes, designed by the best fashion courtiers in all the land, woven from the finest fabric that can be found in the world, made with the utmost care by the Imperial tailors. Greed supposes he should be jealous, all the fuss made about him. The former homunculus used to play this scene and others like it over and over in his head, fantasizing that he'd one day make it come to pass. But this fuss isn't so much about Ling as it is the holiday.  
  
Ling looks like an ass in that funky headdress with a name can't care to remember and can't hope to pronounce. That's the pot calling the kettle black, though. He may love his personal style, but he's not delusional enough to think he's a paragon of fashion. He planned to stick with his all-black ensemble, like he wore on any other day, but kept getting weird looks from the natives (weirder than usual, because he's a morally dubious ex-demon walking around with their ruler's face). He didn't understand the hubbub until Lan Fan explained that black is the color of death, and wearing it on the day made to celebrate life was "inappropriate."  
  
Lan Fan explained the superstitious shit to him, how it was a celebration dedicated to praying for their ancestors safe passage into the next life. Greed thought the whole thing was bull, and had no problem voicing that thought. He couldn't see the expression she made behind her mask, but he knew she made one.  
  
He knows what's out there. He's seen it. Hell, he's lived it. So has she. Ling even more so.  
  
¨Do you seriously believe in all this crap?" He asks the Emperor.  
  
"Why do you ask?"  
  
¨After all you've we've seen. Human Transmutation. Philosopher's Stones, what they're made of. Homunculi. Father. The Gates of Truth. You've even been inside Gluttony's Stomach. You've seen it, or at least, a poor bastardization of it. You know what's beyond this."  
  
"I don't know what you mean," Ling replies, opening one eye, apprehensively going back-and-forth between Greed and the servants dressing him. He and Ling are both speaking in Amestrian; the girls shouldn't be able to understand a word they're saying. Greed's not even sure if they can read or write their own language, much less speak another. Greed supposes Ling can never be too careful though, ruler of the country and all. The corner of his lip curls up in a smirk. "What happened to nothing is impossible? You've died twice, haven't you?"  
  
"Don't be coy with me."  
  
There's a calculating look on Ling's face. He's considering his next words carefully. Greed frowns, a bit offended he wouldn't share and extremely irritated by the extreme redundancy of him keeping secrets. The two shared a body, once upon a time. Could sense each other's feelings, dig into each other's memories, read each other's mind if the other's thoughts were loud enough. They were bonded by their souls (If you could consider the one-seventh of a person Greed is to have a "soul").

"No," He answers, "No. I don't. I can't. Not anymore."  
  
"Then why?"  
  
"Do you really need to ask?" Ling snorts, "I'm the Emperor, and a radical one at that. Maybe the most radical there's ever been. I've always done what I've believed to be right. A lot of people, people on my advisory, say that makes me weak, that it makes our country weak. The people won't fear me. Even more people say I've turned my back on tradition. I've tried to make peace between the clans. My predecessors may have too blind to see it, but we were - and still are - a country divided. The different clans were slaughtering each other, and each side only saw it as 'upholding their honor'. Some think I've taken away their right to do that. By trying to bring prosperity to the poorer clans, clans on the verge of dying like the Chang's, I've disrupted the natural order. I haven't taken the daughter of each clan's chief. I changed laws regarding the treatment of women, servants, and children that have been in place since the First Dynasty... I don't want to stir the pot any further. I can at afford to compromise on a tradition that isn't hurting anyone."  
  
Silence fills the air between them. Greed has a snarky, inappropriate comment on the tip of his tongue, but decides to keep it to himself this once.  
  
"It's not just that though," Ling continues, with a small smile and nostalgic whimsy. "When I was younger, before the Emperor's health began to decline, I used to come to the palace every year to celebrate Láishēng. It was one of the only times I ever saw my father. The only time my siblings and I could be in the same room without trying to kill each other. Lan Fan and I used to sneak away to explore the capital. I'd tell her she didn't have to come. She'd get in trouble. But she insisted it was her duty to protect me... It's a good memory. But it's different now. I'm different. So is she. We've changed. She lost an arm and a grandfather in Amestris. Now, who's-trying-to-kill-me-this-week is a small thing on an endless list of problems we have. It's so easy for me to pretend I still believe. It's easier to believe things are that simple, that I've got what I always wanted and believe what I still do."  
  
Greed is silent. He regrets asking. Despite lacking a lot of human emotion, he's very perceptive towards it. He knew Ling's answer before he said it, but he didn't expect the unapologetic sentiment. Now, the mushy-gushy look on Ling's face is making him feel gross and tense, like ants are crawling all over his body (that must be where his "lacking" comes in).  
  
Greed presses his lips together in a tight line, and speaks up, "Right. I'm gonna go find Mei or Fullmetal Junior..."  
  
Greed ducked out of the room, leaving Ling at the mercy of his Imperial beauty team, and nodded to Lan Fan, standing vigilantly at the door, on his way out.

**Author's Note:**

> I always wondered what Ling would be like as an Emperor. I might do more post-series drabbles in Xing. I like the idea of Ling, Mei, Lan Fan, Greed and Al being squad af together. Super contrived explanations of Greed's aliveness will come.
> 
> EDIT: Re-beta'd as of 2018 for typos and writing style.


End file.
